San Francisco has emerged as one of the clearest examples of the World Cup’s underwhelming tourism impact in the United States.
FIFA had originally locked in large blocks of hotel rooms across host markets, raising expectations that the tournament would bring a major wave of visitors. But months before the event began, the organization cancelled roughly 75 percent of those reservations in several cities.
That decision has left San Francisco dealing with the consequences. Hotel rooms remain available, nightly rates have stayed largely unchanged, and the anticipated surge in spending has yet to materialize, despite earlier claims from local tourism officials that the tournament could provide an economic lift similar to the one seen during the 2026 NFL Super Bowl.
The contrast with Super Bowl weekend is especially striking. Even though the game itself was played 43 miles away at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, San Francisco still capitalized on the influx of visitors and showcased its ability to serve as a major hospitality hub.
During that weekend, average nightly room rates jumped sharply across the city’s 31,000 hotel rooms. According to data from the Sports Management Research Institute, two-star hotels averaged $394 a night, three-star properties reached $582, and rooms at four-star hotels and above climbed to $1,259.
So far, however, the World Cup has not produced the same broad-based booking boom. Instead of a citywide spike, its effect on San Francisco’s hotel market has been far more uneven.
A similar trend is playing out nationwide: An American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) report found that bookings are running well below expectations in almost every US World Cup host city.
The group said the trend does not align with FIFA’s claim that more than five million tickets have been sold, warning that the ‘anticipated economic lift may fall short.’
San Francisco has become a shining example of the World Cup’s tourism bust for hotels across the United States
The Golden Gate City is feeling the repercussions, with hotel rooms undersold and rates flat despite expectations the World Cup would replicate the Super Bowl’s economic boost
San Francisco’s hotels showed they could cash in on major sporting events during February’s Super Bowl weekend, when average nightly rates climbed to $394 for two-star hotels, $582 for three-star properties and $1,259 for four-star and above despite the city sitting 43 miles from Levi’s Stadium
The AHLA – the largest hotel association in the US representing more than 32,000 properties – said FIFA may have contributed to the shortfall by block-booking large numbers of rooms for its own use, effectively creating artificial demand.
The move initially pushed prices higher, but after FIFA later released a significant portion of those rooms it left a ‘vacuum of availability’ that has weighed on the market.
A study commissioned by FIFA and released last year predicted the World Cup could create 185,000 jobs in the US and add $17.2 billion to GDP.
Hotels had been preparing for an influx of international visitors, who typically book longer stays and spend more per trip.
But AHLA warned that fewer overseas fans visiting the US ‘threatens the broader economic impact.’
According to the report, FIFA’s large-scale room blocks across host cities ‘shaped revenue forecasts, staffing plans and preparations,’ and ‘manufactured artificial demand’ that masked weaker-than-expected tourism flows.
The AHLA also said up to 70 percent of rooms reserved by FIFA in cities including Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Seattle have now been cancelled.
In Los Angeles, around 70 percent of the city’s hotels reported bookings below expectations ahead of the World Cup, LAist reported.
Los Angeles is facing a similar challenge, with up to 70 percent of hotels reporting bookings below expectations ahead of the World Cup
A FIFA-commissioned study projected the World Cup would generate 185,000 US jobs and add $17.2 billion to the economy, but the American Hotel & Lodging Association warned that weaker-than-expected international tourism threatens those gains
Atlanta and Miami are the only host cities bucking the trend, with about half of hotels reporting bookings are in line with or ahead of expectations
Miami led all host cities in hotel demand, with the World Cup building on its already strong leisure tourism
The CEO of the Hotel Association of Los Angeles, Jackie Filla, told the outlet that LA hotels struck an agreement with FIFA to commit to having enough rooms to meet the expected demand through a room block agreement, but that those rooms are now sitting empty.
Filla also noted that bookings are unexpectedly low behind their usual summer numbers, adding that it could be due to the mega-event deterring travel to the city.
Two cities bucking the trend are Atlanta and Miami, where hotels say bookings are ‘in line with or ahead of expectations.’
Miami had the strongest demand, with the World Cup building on leisure demand, the AHLA report found.
After matches were announced in December, hotel operators in San Francisco were cautious about the World Cup’s economic impact, according to Alex Bastian, president and CEO of the Hotel Council of San Francisco, in comments to SFGATE.
He said the Bay Area was not assigned ‘first-place seed teams’ with large traveling fan bases, limiting expected demand.
Bastian added that a matchup featuring a country like Brazil would likely have driven stronger hotel bookings.
Brazil, along with Colombia and Portugal, is instead playing in Miami, which is also hosting a quarter-final and third-place match.
Michael Stathokostopoulos, senior director of hospitality analytics at CoStar Group, told SFGATE that marquee European teams such as Germany, Italy or Spain would also have boosted demand in San Francisco.
Italy failed to qualify, while Germany is playing in Houston, Toronto and the New York City metro area, and Spain is playing in Atlanta and Mexico.
Levi’s Stadium will host a Round of 32 match on July 1, and Stathokostopoulos said later knockout games could draw stronger last-minute international demand depending on which teams advance.
